Framing is widely used in the construction industry to provide structural support for a wall, floor, roof, or any other building element. To form a frame, framing structural members are arranged perpendicularly and secured to each other, so that the frame can withstand loads in different directions. Frames for home construction are generally made from lumber and include two spaced apart end members, such as headers, plates, or beams, to which a plurality of parallel members are connected at a substantially perpendicular angle. The parallel members are commonly referred to as studs, joists, or rafters, and can be formed from lumber with standard thicknesses. Common sizes include 2×4, 2×3, 2×6, 2×8, 2×10, and 2×12, which refer to various nominal cross-sectional dimensions of the lumber in inches.
The studs, joists, or rafters are evenly spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, which is often dictated by building codes. For example, in frames for load bearing walls, the studs are usually spaced to be 16 inches on center. The term “on center” is widely used in building construction, and refers to the measurement made between the centers of two adjacent members. Accordingly, a frame that is 16 inches on center requires adjacent studs to be spaced such that the distance from the center point of one stud to the center point of an adjacent stud is substantially 16 inches. In addition to observance of building codes, forming frames with standard stud spacing (such as 16 inches on center or 24 inches on center) is necessary because the building materials to be connected to the frame (such as plywood, panels, and drywall) are often provided in standard sizes so that each end of the material lines up with the center of a stud for secure connections.
To ensure that studs are properly spaced in a frame, it is necessary to carefully measure and position the studs during construction. However, doing so is time consuming and can be challenging especially to non-professionals such as homeowners working on home improvement projects. In addition, mistakes can still be made during the measuring process, leading to uneven stud spacing and problems when plywood panels or drywall is attached to the frame. To address these issues, spacing tools have been provided to hold and space studs at standard distances from each other, such as 16 inches on center or 24 inches on center. However, the use of these spacing tools is limited where the frame includes additional studs that are not 16 inches on center, such as preexisting studs or special structural members that must be arranged at a fixed location, including for example and without limitation, jack studs, king studs, partition studs, door framing, window framing, and skylight framing. When one of these intervening members is present in a frame between two studs that must be spaced apart by a predetermined distance, known spacing tools cannot be used because the intervening member interferes with the body portion of the tool, and the spacing tool cannot be brought downward into the proper position to engage and space the studs. This may be especially problematic where the intervening member has a greater height than the studs, as the body portion of the spacing tool comes into contact with the intervening member before the guides comes into contact with the studs.
Therefore, a need exists for a framing spacing tool that can be used to easily space studs, joists, or rafters apart at regular intervals, even where an intervening member is present between the studs to be spaced apart.